‘Mexico Not Like U.S.’ Copper Canyon Tour Boss Allegedly Said in Firing Female President

TUCSON (CN) – The ex-president of a tour company that offers train rides through Mexico’s Copper Canyon says the major stockholder in Sierra Madre Express fired her after telling her the company’s male employees “could not work for a woman,” that she was “unable to understand her male crew,” and that “Mexico is not like the U.S. – the crew will not work for a woman.”

Plaintiff Connie Dudley was president of Sierra Madre Express from 2003 to 2007. She sued Sierra Madre Express and its majority stock holder, Peter Robbins, in Pima County Court. She says the situation came to a head in 2007 when Robbins refused to let her discipline a male employee, though male supervisors were allowed to discipline workers. Dudley says that when she mentioned harassment several weeks later, Robbins fired her from the job that paid $76,000 a year. Dudley also says that during her tenure as president the tour company went from “bleeding from losses” to annual sales of $2.2 million. Dudley, who filed the case pro se, seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages. Copper Canyon, home to the Tarahumara Indians in northwest Mexico, is bigger than the Grand Canyon.